Otis
Otis Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation system. The company was founded in Yonkers, New York, USA by Elisha Otis, who accidentally invented the safety mechanism of elevator should the hoisting rope break.The Secret Life of the Lift (Secret Life Of Machines Series 3 (1993) by Tim Hunkin) - YouTube History Otis was founded by Elisha Otis in New York, NY, USA, after he demonstrated the special safety elevator mechanism in the Crystal Palace Exhibition in New York City in 1854. By the end of 1856, Otis had sold more than 40 elevators, all freight models. In 1857, the world's first passenger elevator was installed. After Elisha Otis died of diphtheria in 1861, the company was continued under his two sons Charles and Norton. Soon, the company was renamed to "Otis Brothers Co." with Charles as the company's president. In 1868, Otis developed a steam-powered passenger elevator and in 1870, the company introduce a water-pressured hydraulic elevator. In the 1880s, Otis has established branch offices in London and Paris, and had installed elevators in the Eiffel Tower, London Underground, Glasgow Harbour Tunnel, etc. Otis developed the escalator technology in 1895 and was introduced it in the Paris Exposition in 1900. In the 1920s, Otis introduce an automatic elevator which eliminated the need for elevator operators. Later, in the 1930s, a double-deck elevator was introduced by Otis. On July 7 1976, after a hostile take over, Otis became a wholly owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. Otis purchased UK's oldest elevator company Express Lift Co. Ltd. of Northampton as well as Evans Lifts of Leichester in 1997. Later, both companies merged together to form "Express Evans". In 2000, Otis introduced its machine-roomless elevator product, Gen2, which uses flat polyurethane belt instead of conventional steel cable. Otis introduces its destination dispatch system called "Otis Compass" which is similar to Schindler Miconic 10 elevators. In 2013, Otis launched a new residential Gen2 elevator that eliminates the need for three phase power, is solar-power capable, and uses battery technology to continue to run when the power goes out.Otis launched new residential solar-powered Gen2 elevator Locations Otis has its headquarter in Farmington, Connecticut, major manufacturing facilities in America, Europe, Asia, and has serving in more than 200 countries worldwide. Otis has its main elevator test tower Bristol Test Tower located in its headquarter compound. Another test tower is located in Shibayama, Japan, which is one of the tallest elevator testing tower in the world. Waygood Otis Main article: Waygood Otis Notable acquisitions *19?? - Becker Equipment & Lifts Limited (United Kingdom)Becker Lift Company in Beno Lift Guide *1914 - Waygood & Co. (United Kingdom) *1982 - Evans Lifts Limited (United Kingdom) *1995 - Boral Elevators (Australia) *1997 - Express Lift Co. Ltd. (United Kingdom) *2005 - LG Elevator (South Korea) *2011 - Marshall Elevator (United States) Notable installations Worldwide *Eiffel Tower, Paris, France (1889)This building have Double Deck Elevators. *Empire State Building, New York, USA (1931) *Singer Building, New York, USA (1920s) *Ex. World Trade Center (Twin Towers), New York, USA. *Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1996) *CN Tower, Canada. *Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo, Japan (2003) *Skylon Tower. *Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UEA (currently the world's fastest and tallest elevators since 2010). *Shenzhen Metro, China. *Most of the MTR StationsInclude Ex. KCR Stations, Hong Kong, China (1979-2004) *Central Plaza, Hong Kong, China (1992) *Allianz Centre, Sydney *Deutsche Bank Place, Sydney (2003-2005) *David Jones department store, Sydney, Australia (1926)Modded by Scope Elevators, maintained by Schindler. Thailand *Grand China Hotel, Bangkok *Imperial Queen's Park, Bangkok *Bangkok Hotel Lotus Sukhumvit *Thai CC Tower, BangkokElevonic 411 elevators. *Holiday Inn Bangkok Silom *Phaya Thai Plaza, Bangkok *State Tower, Bangkok *SV City, BangkokModded from older Express Lifts elevators. *Time Square Building, Bangkok *Midtown Asok, Bangkok *Nana Square, Bangkok *ITF Tower, Bangkok *Montien Hotel Bangkok (1960s) *Mandarin Oriental Bangkok *Dusit Thani Hotel, Bangkok *Peninsula Plaza, Bangkok *Gaysorn Plaza, Bangkok *Ramada Plaza Menam Riverside Hotel, Bangkok *Furama Silom, Bangkok *State Tower, Bangkok (2001) *MBK Center, Bangkok Indonesia *Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta (1970s)Modded into Elevonic 411 M. *Sahid Jaya Hotel, Jakarta (1970s) *Sultan Hotel (formerly Hilton Hotel), Jakarta (1970s) *Jakarta Convention Centre, Jakarta *Tebet Green, Jakarta (2011)Gen2 elevators. *Hotel Indonesia Kempinski, Jakarta (1962)Modded in 2007 *Plaza Sentral Tower I & II, Senayan, Jakarta *Wisma Nusantara, Jakarta (1967) *Gedung Arthaloka, JakartaHas Otis Series 1 fixtures. *Menara Peninsula Hotel, Jakarta *Mall @ Alam Sutera, South Tangerang (2012) *Somerset Hotel, Surabaya *Sheraton Hotel, Surabaya *Golden City Mall, Surabaya *Cascade Factory Outlet, Bandung (2007) *The Stones Hotel, Bali Otis elevator started its businesses in Indonesia since 1964. United States *Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, Georgia *Prudential Tower, Boston, MassachussettsMidded twice using Luxury fixtures and again with Series 2. *Hotel Albuquerque Old Town, Albuquerque, New MexicoModded by ThyssenKrupp in 2011. *Sheraton Hotel (formerly Hyatt Regency), Kansas City, Missouri *Bank of America Building (500 N Main St.), Roswell, New Mexico *Plaza of the Americas, Dallas, Texas *Thanksgiving Tower, Dallas, Texas *Spitzer building, Toledo,Ohio *Renaissance Center,Detroit, Michigan Notable products Signal Control The Signal Control system which is the world first automatic relay logic controlled elevator system in 1924. Autotronic elevators The Autotronic (automatic electronic) elevators are automatic programmed elevators introduced in 1948. Unlike the earlier push-button models (Signal Control), these elevators were large, fast, and could change speeds and adjust their schedules to suit traffic demands, bypassing floors when fully loaded. Elevonic 101 The Elevonic 101 was the first completely micro-processor-based elevator control system. It was introduced in 1979. Elevonic 401 The second product of the Elevonic class, the Elevonic 401 was the first "human-engineered" elevator with synthesized speech, information display and security system. It was introduced in 1981. Remote Elevator Monitoring Also known as REM, a diagnostic system for checking elevator performance from distant location. It was introduced in 1986. Elevonic 411 and 311 Both products were introduced in 1989 and was the most advanced elevator systems in the world. A year later, the modernization series for both products (Elevonic 411M and 311M) were launched. Otis 2000 Elevator product line for European countries introduced in 1993 but still have few installations in ChinaHong Kong is included.. This product line consists of the Otis 2000 (traction), 2000 H (hydraulic) and 2000 VF (VVVF-controlled traction). 506 NCE escalator A flexible modular escalator design that can be assembled to individual specification. Introduced in 1994. Skyway The world's first AC gearless elevator with large load capacity and flexible Double Deck elevator (1998). This product have another name called "Super Double-Deck Elevator System (Chinese: 超級雙層升降機系統)". Otis Gen2 Main article: Gen2 Otis Compass Main article: Compass (Otis) Otis Compass is Otis' destination dispatch system. Subsidiaries *Xizi Otis Elevator Co. Ltd. (Hangzhou, China - established in 1997) *Sigma Elevator Company (South Korea, merged with LG in 1999, then established in 2001) Accidents and incident *On 13 May 2003, an upward escalator at City Hall MRT station, Singapore suddenly reversed, flinging some 20 people on it backwards, including a woman who was pregnant. *On July 24, 2009, a group of 8 people were trapped for 8 hours in an Otis elevator in Toronto. A repair man who tried to fix the elevator fell 10 floors to his death. *On December 14, 2010, an Otis escalator installed in the International Trade station of Shenzhen Metro Line 1 retrograded without notice, causing 25 passenger injures. *On July 5, 2011, an Otis 513MPE escalator installed at Beijing Subway Line 4 Zoo Station escalator changed direction without notice, causing 30 people to fall. One boy was killed and 27 people injured, prompting China to halt the use of the escalator model. *In February 2007, the European Union regulators fined Otis Elevator 225 million Euros for being part of a price-fixing cartel. Other manufacturers such as ThyssenKrupp, Schindler, Kone and Mitsubishi Elevator Europe were also fined similar amounts in the same cartel. Trivia *In Japan, Otis elevators are often called Nippon OTIS and often branded as National OTIS. *Otis has also dabbled in horizontal automated people-mover "shuttle" systems, such as the Otis Hovair. **One of the notable Otis Hovair installations is in Narita International Airport, Japan. They were installed by Nippon Otis Elevator Company in 1992 and it is still in operation. *Most Otis elevators in Korea are using Sigma-based elevator fixtures. See also *Otis Elevator Fixtures Guide (American) *Otis Elevator Fixtures Guide (South Korea) *Otis Elevator Fixtures Guide (worldwide) Gallery Logos Otis Globe logo.jpg|Otis globe logo (18?? - 1920s) 5151520043_bb600c47bd.jpg|Otis globe logo plate 20120416-010m.jpg Otis door sills logo 20s.jpg|Otis logo on a 1920s elevator (1920s - 19??) Otis UTC logo.jpg|Otis logo with the UTC signs. This logo is still used today (normally seen in some US Otis elevatir brochures). Old OTIS Door Sill 4.jpg|Old OTIS logo on door sills (1950s-1980s) 219_otis-940x626.jpg|Another classic OTIS logo (1950s-1980s) OTIS Door Sill.jpg|Current OTIS logo on an elevator door sills in Sydney, Australia. New OTIS logo.jpg|The new OTIS logo (2010 - current). These are very rare and only seen in the US (normally in the Series 5 fixtures). Otis logo door sills Austin TX.jpg|Old Otis logo on door sills. Otis classic leveling.jpg|Otis classic floor leveling. images_ARCHIVE_PICS_Misc_archive_ml-signs_otis.jpg|Vintage Otis badge from 1905. Otis capbadge.JPG|Newer OTIS capacity badge normally found in Asian countries. Other Otis Elevator Testing Tower Bristol.jpg|The Bristol Testing Tower in Connecticut. OTIS 2007.jpg|Typical OTIS capacity badge normally found in Asia. 6737385661_de60aafc74_z.jpg|An old school Otis Weight limit Plate usually found in freight lifts. Otis Elevator Company Pty. Ltd..jpg|Typical OTIS capacity badge in Australia. PT. Citas Otis Head Office Jakarta.jpg|Otis representative office in Jakarta, Indonesia. Note External links *Official website *Sigma Elevator Company official website *Hangzhou Xizi Otis Elevator official website *List of patent *Complete history of Otis Elevator Company *The complete Otis Elevator Voice Announce Vocabulary (.wav format). - Source: SkyscraperSim Forum. *More history on The Elevator Museum site Category:American companies